As the world flinches in dismay at American foreign policy and seeks new global trading partners, there is a faction in the US administration that believes regaining their previous status can only be achieved by a shift in the European, democratic zeitgeist that will tilt public opinion towards the far-right, enabling governance that is more aligned to their own political ideologies. In the UK, they launch a rage-bait campaign aimed at their former allies, driving a narrative that is shrouded in violence and terrorism and is carefully targeted at Britain’s teetering and divided views on immigration. The goal is to push the UK over the edge and into the arms of the American system.
On Hampstead Heath, the very public and brutal murder of a beautiful, young Ukrainian woman - Natasha Binski - occurs on the watch of DI Monica Ceres. A viral video depicts a man leaving the murder scene who looks very much like an illegal immigrant.
Natasha Binski was one of Nick Barclay’s girls. Barclay is a notorious, yet untouchable West End gangster who owns an up-market club in Mayfair. His son - Hugh - is a PhD candidate delving into AI’s influence on society, and it is he who spots that the video is a clever fake. Monica is forced to hand the Syrian suspect over to the Home Office, and she’s required by her bosses to make Barclay the next best culprit.
Shortly afterwards, there is a brutal attack on a Syrian religious centre in Holland Park, resulting in the death of several innocent worshippers. Another attack. Another viral video. One that is so well-coordinated, that it leaves Monica Ceres and her team with very few avenues of investigation.
However, Nick Barclay and his wing-man - Danny DeSilva - have seen it all. Together, they’ve hunted down Serbian war criminals, and the Barclay Club is not the den of iniquity that Monica Ceres is led to believe it is. As she gets closer to Barclay and his organisation, she discovers a man driven by the injustices he’s witnessed in his past. Someone who has been forged by the brutality and horror of the Bosnian war. And a man who will stop at nothing to guarantee that justice is ensured for Natasha Binski and the victims of the Holland Park massacre.

The only problem that she faces is that Nick’s form of justice has very little to do with the legal system that she so respects, honours, and upholds.